As I Am (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  R&B  »  General/R&B
• Format: CD
• Release Date: November 13, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: J-Records (USA)
• UPC: 886971151329
• WAPI (Tower ID): 111463130
• Average Customer Review:    (2 customer reviews)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #54 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #4 in R&B (See Top 100 R&B Bestsellers)
• #3 in General/R&B (See Top 100 General/R&B Bestsellers)

• DISC 1 for As I Am (CD) Album
• 1   As I Am (Intro)
• 2   Go Ahead
• 3   Superwoman
• 4   No One
• 5   Like You'll Never See Me Again
• 6   Lesson Learned
• 7   Wreckless Love
• 8   Thing About Love, The
• 9   Teenage Love Affair
• 10   I Need You
• 11   Where Do We Go From Here
• 12   Prelude To A Kiss
• 13   Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)
• 14   Sure Looks Good To Me

•  [Click here to listen to the hit single "No One"] 
  
•  [Official Alicia Keys Artist Site] 
  
•  [Alicia Keys - Official Myspace] 
  
•  [Alicia Keys - Wikipedia Entry] 
  

Rolling Stone (p.192) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he prevailing mood is reflectively soulful and the prevailing tempo mid."
Rolling Stone (p.114) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "Keys' ever-deepening vocal power is the first thing you notice on AS I AM."
Spin (p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[O]n her melodically powerful third studio album, she matures into the matriarch of her genre."
Entertainment Weekly (p.75) - "'The Thing About Love' begins as a melancholy R&B lament and rolls into pure pop-rock uplift..." -- Grade: B
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - "She certainly has vocal dexterity and prodigious keyboard skills....Tracks like No One and Thing About Love become exercises in power soul..."
Blender (Magazine) (p.146) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "AS I AM advances by showing an experimental side....The music is dizzying, even mesmerizing."

Personnel: Alicia Keys (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, harpsichord, Wurlitzer organ, Mellotron, synthesizer, bass synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, string synthesizer, vocoder, programming, background vocals); Jack Splash (various instruments, programming); Ron Haney, Peter Thorn, David Ryan Harris, John "Jubu" Smith (guitar); John Salvatore Scaglione (guitars); Steve Mostyn (acoustic guitar, bass guitar); Everette K. Harp (saxophone); Darryl Dixon (alto saxophone); David Watson (tenor saxophone); Carl Maraghi (baritone saxophone); Duane Eubanks, David G. Stout, Jumaane Smith (trumpet); Jason Sugata (French horn); Harry Kim (trombone); Michael Dease (tenor trombone, bass trombone); Ryan Kebrle (tenor trombone); Mark Batson (piano, Clavinet, Hammond b-3 organ, Moog synthesizer, programming, drum programming); Linda Perry (piano, background vocals); Damon Fox (Hammond b-3 organ, Mellotron, Moog synthesizer); Paul Ill, Sean Hurley (bass guitar); Trevor Lawrence, Jr. (drums, percussion); Mark Robohm, Steve Jordan (drums); Kerry "Krucial" Brothers (drum programming); Novel Stevenson, Harold Lilly, L. Green (background vocals); Ann Minicieli.

Additional personnel: John Mayer (guitar, background vocals).

The third full-length from contemporary R&B diva Alicia Keys is called AS I AM, a title that adequately reflects the album's straightforward, confessional soul-pop. Keys built her popularity making stylish, reflective, voice-&-piano music; AS I AM continues that trend, albeit in a poppier vein that balances neatly between neo-soul and adult contemporary. This is reflected in the mid-tempo grooves, songs of empowerment ("Superwoman"), and stirring ballads ("The Thing About Love").

Keys's collaborators on the album include songwriter Linda Perry, who co-wrote three of the album's tracks, and John Mayer, who twines voices with Keys on the sensual "Lesson Learned." Top-notch arrangements, which include gorgeous, retro-tinged flourishes via strings and horns, make the set shimmer, but it's the strength of the hook-heavy tunes and Keys's moving performances that make AS I AM stick. It's not the five-star album she's capable of, but it leaves little doubt that Keys is moving steadily in that direction.

Alicia Keys – As I Am

“As I Am” is the third full-length release from the multi-talented Alicia Keys, a title that effectively supports the album’s no-frills, soulful declaration. Keys finds the perfect balance between neo-soul and modern pop, seamlessly weaving them together in text book fashion. Alicia’s musical stylings are sung with inspiring conviction, ranging from heartrending ballads to paramount grooves of empowerment to mid tempo piano sprinkled delights that collectively outline what is crucial to Keys. From elaborate, string filled arrangements to stripped down, stunning melodies – Keys showcases a well rounded go at delivering a design that works best with her core strengths and outlines a brighter path for success as her musical vision becomes more acute with each installment.

- SC, Right Around The Corner, 04/08/08